Overcoming COVID-19 in Bhutan: Lessons from Coping with the Pandemic in a Tourism-Dependent Economy

By Asian Development Bank

Bhutan has carried out early and decisive measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), including restrictions on tourists since March 2020. This approach, though effective, severely affected the economy, bringing the tourism and aviation sectors to a virtual standstill. Given Bhutan's limited resources and capacity to cope with a full-blown outbreak, such a trade-off was inevitable. This policy brief assesses the Government of Bhutan's financial relief measures extended to the most affected people, as well as investment programs and other interventions, with a special focus on the tourism sector.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Asian Development Bank
• Release date: Jan 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9789292692278

Book preview

OVERCOMING

COVID-19 IN BHUTAN

LESSONS FROM COPING WITH THE PANDEMIC IN A TOURISM-DEPENDENT ECONOMY

DECEMBER 2021

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)

© 2021 Asian Development Bank

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Some rights reserved. Published in 2021.

ISBN 978-92-9269-226-1 (print); 978-92-9269-227-8 (electronic); 978-92-9269-228-5 (ebook)

Publication Stock No. SPR210490-2

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/SPR210490-2

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Notes:

In this publication, $ refers to United States dollars.

On the cover: Local tourism in Bhutan. Visitors walk up to the Tango